Germany marks reunification anniversary amid economic concerns

Germany is marking twenty years since it was officially reunified. Politicians and celebrities are in Bremen for the official launch of the nationwide celebrations.

The celebrations mark the culmination of a process sparked by the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 – bringing together East and West Germany.

However, it led to a turbulent decade with the huge cost of rebuilding infrastructure in the east, subsequently causing a recession.

Even today, there is a large gap between the living standards in the two halves of the country.

Author and market guru Michael Mross believes at the end of the day the reunification was a success:

“If you compare the costs of the reunification…the current so-called rescue package is only peanuts. So we can be happy to be reunited twenty years after,” Mross told RT.

After surviving that downturn, Europe's largest economy is now covering the costs of much of the EU’s banking crisis.

Political and business consultant Christoph Hoerstel warns Germany can't afford to keep paying the EU's debts.

“They feel they have more than enough to deal with, and they are not really happy to pump more money into Europe – that's quite understandable," Hoerstel told RT. "The last bailout we had to organize for Greece, which amounted to half a trillion euros, that was – so to say – enough. Germany doesn't have that kind of money.”